2014 Willi Schaefer Graacher Domprobst Riesling Kabinett - Mosel

[Rhone1998]

See that Schaefer Riesling on your retailer's shelf for $30? They make less than 1,000 cases per year. 1989 Haut-Brion sold for $70 on release, and it's now worth over $1,000 a bottle. And they made over 20,000 cases of it.

I know next to nothing about German wines.  MacArthur sells Rieslings from two different German producers both named Schaeffer. Is this the one you mean?

[DonRocks]

I know next to nothing about German wines.  MacArthur sells Rieslings from two different German producers both named Schaeffer. Is this the one you mean?

Yes, the great Willi Schaefer, and arguably his greatest vineyard: Graacher Domprobst (his Graacher Himmelreich is often its equal). There's another superb vineyard called Wehlener Sonnenuhr (the king of which is J.J. Prum who was mentioned upthread), but I don't love Schaefer's version as much as his two Graachers - it could be due to younger vines, or a lesser parcel of vines.

German wines are terribly difficult to master - the one pictured is a Kabinett, which is a relatively low level of ripeness (there are five levels above this). That doesn't mean there aren't great Kabinett-level wines (there are), merely that it won't be his most expensive or finest bottle, despite being from a world-class vineyard.

You would never regret purchasing the wine pictured - you could drink it on release, or put it in deep storage and wait 10-20 years.

[Rhone1998]

You would never regret purchasing the wine pictured - you could drink it on release, or put it in deep storage and wait 10-20 years.

The wine pictured was purchased yesterday, consumed last night, and not regretted at all. 

As a novice here, though, it takes a while to figure out how to think about this type of wine...half the alcohol, very much lighter than most table wines I'm used to.  It's unusual to find a wine that's both "light" in this way but complex as well.

[DonRocks]

The wine pictured was purchased yesterday, consumed last night, and not regretted at all. 

As a novice here, though, it takes a while to figure out how to think about this type of wine...half the alcohol, very much lighter than most table wines I'm used to.  It's unusual to find a wine that's both "light" in this way but complex as well.

You can drink that whole bottle by yourself and not be soused - I've seen offerings by Schaefer well under 10% alcohol. This is a wine that I would proudly have in my own cellar - and it's not even that expensive.

Terry Theise has a predilection for sweeter wines (*), and his portfolio has significantly influenced the American palate, as he was one of only two major German importers for a long, long time. A Schaefer Kabinett is the type of wine that goes really well with things such as Tom Ka Gai (the Thai soup with galanga, lemongrass, and coconut milk). They go with Asian cooking much better than Western European cooking, in my opinion.

Interesting trivia for German wine lovers with a little, but not too much, knowledge: On Aug 1, 2007, the region Mosel-Saar-Ruwer legally changed its name to simply Mosel. This shook up German wine connoisseurs when it first happened, but it's all for the better, as it was done to make things more consumer-friendly. This is why (I'm taking an educated guess here) you now see "Mosel" on labels of wines produced in 2007-and-later, and "Mosel-Saar-Ruwer" (which are the three main rivers in that region) on labels of wines produced in 2006-and-before.

(*) I'm not sure Terry imported this particular selection (it will be on the label), as it isn't listed here in his partner's portfolio. But I'm just now thinking about this, and could easily be wrong. If you're really curious, I could simply ask Terry what his status is with Willi Schaefer these days - he used to have a nationwide exclusive on his wines; that may no longer be true. If this is the case, it can be a sensitive issue, and I'd need to tread lightly.